Thanks for the detailed post and was nice to quickly meet you the other day.
We spent hours on this yesterday, the fact they can do whatever you want and each van I have seen is a different design yes you wonder what will work best for you
We looked through around different van layouts of other models as well.
As 4 kids we where thinking of going a 4 bunk van although we end up with a really small combo shower and not much cupboard space.
There are a lot of vans with the 21'6 layout every manafacture has one so you think it works
Your situation has made me realise how lucky with are with 3... there i was thinking how tricky it was. All relative, huh?!
For us I do not want to go too long.. I need to move the Spa fence etc to fit in anything over 8.8m. Length limits your driving turning circle, van spots etc. Our current tug the Disco 350/3500 although do not want to get near that.
Space a big issue for us; really don't want to go more than 20' internal but we're lucky in that we have a little bit of flex.
The whole reason for us upgrading now is our twins Asthma gets bad when cold. Our current van has no ensuite, last year was fine over winter we went out every month for 3-4 days as they where still in nappies. This year 3 aborted weekends away and we did the Expandas get together in a Cabin. So either we go spring/summer months only and maybe up north as Melb summer can still be cold
or get a new van.
My long service due end of next year as well.. I love to do a half lap..
The musts for us:
Two Solar to start with 240w. Some people here have a lot more.
2-3 Batteries depends on Fridge. I use CPAP so thats 50amps a night.
Diesel/LPG Heater, Current car is not diesel so thinking LPG.. Actually thinking the new HWS/LPG model
http://www.truma.com/int/en/heating/combi-4-e.php
Large fridge
Extended height roof to give more height to each bunk.
Did not think of putting inverter in on build thats a great idea thanks.
Spare under van
The question for us are:
Two or three water tanks?We're going three - two plus one dedicated drinking water one. Crusader can fit a switch, and are also adding a pump that can draw water from rivers and creeks so we can use two for shower and sinks etc and doesn't matter where it fills from and how hard/minerally/other the water is; the third always has clean drinking water.
Fridge: 3 way or Waeco style.
Same question for us; Christian @StoneStomper has a compressor fridge in his. Not something we'd considered before, but the more threads I read, the more open we are.
Club vs L shape: If we dropping one table down as a bed is a L shape better as you have the length. It also make the van look more open inside. We can put a chair on the end so easier to fit 6 of us around. Although your idea moving the door down so extra space is a good one.
I really like the large club lounge found in the big Expanda's. Not sure can get that big
we're determined to go as big as possible. We put chairs at the end too. Those tall plastic square stools from discount shops are strong, light, fairly comfy and perfect height; we often use 2 in expanda at end of cafe dinette when buddies are around.
Combo vs separate ensuite. Do we take up a lot of space for something you do not use much. We have 4 boys who cannot aim so I always thought a combo you can just shower off
like you're thinking! And does save a heap of space. Plus think i mentioned(?); they're happy to put extra overhead cupboards in the ST combo. Gonna put storage everywhere we can that works!
Internal vs external boot. I love that rear boot although you loose a foot of internal space if I keep to the same length. It also adds I think 200kg so have to think of overall weight. If we do not go slide out kitchen and a traditional front boot like the model there now then chairs,BBQ etc will fit in those fine.
Slide out kitchen or not: If we do not go rear boot we need the room in the tunnel. If we want to set the annex up you need a front wall the zips up.
They have a verandah addition that can be added to the annex to provide shelter and shade for the slide out; we're going this option.
Bunks on side wall or boot: Side wall equals large windows more open although takes up more space. I like how
@Angus has done it in the plan above. He picked up two extra pantry/wardrobes. and kept his length down.
we're going the East-west bunks across the back (but again, we only have three, not four kids. Are putting max size windows in at the head of each bunk as per the mantaray triple bunk. Am putting together sketch plan of conglomeration of NewAge mantaray meets family getabout with our own twist; happy to flick it through when it's closer to done.
Washing machine: If we go internal machine and no rear boot we loose a shelf in the cupboard with top loader. We could also just use our small dual tub we have now and not go inbuilt..
Grey Water: Do we go for a tank or a portable device. Some free camp sites now getting strict.
Jury's still out for us on this as well. We're thinking portable at this stage. Didn't know places are tightening up?
Bench space vs pantry cupboards? Need space for coffee machine
one of the things i'm going back to sus out the best position for this week! (Love the smell of it, but I don't drink coffee. A non-negotiable for our champion driver, though :tea:
Silver or white we were undecided until we learned that apparently white handles a lot better in heat.. apparently some people have had issues with the silver soaking up the rays, expanding, and having trouble fitting back together quite the same way. Any one know anything about this?
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